The Nigeria Ecolinguistics Association

1. An epistemological turn Historically, culturally, and developmentally, language is prior to science. Moreover, science itself is a construct of language, because scientists impose their language on what they assume is there to be named by that language (Harris 2005). The role of language in the lives of humans is of paramount importance; yet, the millennia-long study of language has not produced any noticeable effects on human praxis as distinguished from poiesis and teoria (in the Aristotelian sense) – unlike, for example, in physics, chemistry, biology, or computer science. This is indicative of a deep methodological crisis in linguistics, whose epistemological foundation precludes our understanding of the very nature of language (Kravchenko 2015). The ousting of the ideology of holism from scientific research, and the persisting infatuation with analytism have led to an extreme fragmentation of our knowledge of the world, and language as a specific mode of human existence

The first aim of the Nigeria Ecolinguistics Association is to develop linguistic theories which see humans not only as part of Nigerian society, but also as part of the larger ecosystems that life depends on, both in Nigeria and abroad. The second aim of the association is to show how linguistics can be used to address key ecological issues in Nigeria, from climate change and biodiversity loss to environmental justice. If you would like to join us, then please contact the convener by clicking here .